News from China
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2026 09:16 ET (27-Oct-2026 13:16 GMT/UTC)
Cracks in the root: How wheat absorbs clay minerals
Maximum Academic PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Clay minerals have long been thought too large for plant absorption, but new research turns that assumption on its head.
- Journal
- Pedosphere
Invasion, restoration, and the surprising season for soil life
Maximum Academic PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Microbes beneath our feet quietly orchestrate the health of ecosystems, but their seasonal rhythms remain a mystery—especially in coastal wetlands.
- Journal
- Pedosphere
A perspective paper looks at digital transportation’s basic theories
SciOpenPeer-Reviewed Publication
Digital transportation describes transportation where advanced digital technologies are integrated into the system to improve its efficiency and safety. A perspective paper summarizing the development of transportation and examining digital transportation from a variety of viewpoints was published in the Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development on March 31, 2026.
- Journal
- Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development (English Edition)
Capital Medical University study spots early signal to protect vision during brain tumor surgery
Chinese Neurosurgical JournalPeer-Reviewed Publication
Intraoperative changes in visual signals can predict postoperative vision loss in patients undergoing surgery for recurrent craniopharyngiomas. The researchers report that a one-third drop in a key signal serves as an early warning, enabling timely surgical adjustments. This study is among the first to define a tailored threshold for these high-risk, technically challenging tumors, offering a practical step toward safer, more precise neurosurgical care.
- Journal
- Chinese Neurosurgical Journal
- Funder
- Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission
Customizable sub-nanometer vertical-step grayscale lithography
Science China PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Recent advances in grayscale lithography have significantly expanded its capabilities for three-dimensional micro- and nanofabrication, offering distinct advantages over conventional binary lithography for the realization of complex integrated devices. This technology has enabled high-resolution 3D structuring in applications such as microlens arrays, blazed gratings, microfluidic systems, MEMS, and biomimetic interfaces. Nevertheless, existing methods remain fundamentally limited in vertical resolution—typically from the micrometer scale down to tens of nanometers—leaving grayscale patterning at the nanometric and even Ångström levels largely unexplored.
In this work, researchers report a probe-guided laser direct writing (PG-LDW) approach capable of fabricating multi-level step structures with step heights of ~2 Å. This resolution surpasses the current benchmark of 6 nm achieved by grayscale electron beam lithography, thereby breaking the long-standing resolution barrier. By employing probe-guided surface focusing in combination with laser power modulation, they achieve controlled material removal without photoresist masks or dry etching processes, thus eliminating contamination and etch-induced distortions. The process is performed under ambient conditions, allowing direct writing of complex patterns into 2D materials. The structural and chemical modifications were systematically characterized using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the integrated AFM capability of the probe further allows iterative multi-pass processing with real-time feedback and precise rewriting. This probe-guided laser lithography technique provides high-fidelity, sub-nanometer vertical-step resolution in a resist-free context, opening new opportunities for the down-scaling fabrication of next-generation nanophotonic, nanoelectronic, and biomimetic devices.
- Journal
- Science Bulletin
Circadian rhythms in cardiovascular disease: a new perspective on inter-organ crosstalk
Science China PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
A team of Xiyuan Hospital researchers reveal circadian disruption (CD) as a key driver of cardiovascular disease (CVD) multi-organ comorbidities. Caused by sleep/eating irregularities and shift work, CD disturbs SCN-controlled peripheral rhythms, triggering damage via autonomic/metabolic imbalance and gut dysbiosis, with bidirectional harm between CD and end-organ damage. CD has distinct pathological effects on cardio-cerebral, cardio-hepatic and cardio-renal comorbidities. Chronotherapies and clock-targeted drugs show promise. The study advocates personalized chronomedicine and temporal-dimension integration for network-based CVD management.
- Journal
- Medicine Plus
Breaking the scale barrier: New toolkit enables mass-production of high-entropy cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries
Science China PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
To address the long-standing challenges of difficult mass-production and low phase purity in high-entropy sodium vanadium fluorophosphates (HE-NVPF), this study developed a microfluidic system integrated with in-situ Raman spectroscopy. This setup allows for the high-throughput optimization of reaction conditions, achieving an iteration efficiency 400 times higher than traditional methods. Based on these insights, the author developed a microfluidic-assisted spray drying technique, enabling the kilogram-scale production of various HE-NVPF cathode materials . The resulting cathodes demonstrate record-breaking rate performance in sodium-ion batteries, proving the universal potential of this microfluidic synthesis platform.
- Journal
- National Science Review
BGI Genomics joins HGP2 rare disease alliance to close rare disease care gap in Asia-Pacific
BGI GenomicsBusiness Announcement
The HGP2 Rare Disease Alliance of the Asia-Pacific Region (HGP2 RaDiAnce–APAC) was officially launched in Kuala Lumpur on May 10.
YBhg. Datuk Dr. Nor Fariza Binti Ngah, Deputy Director-General of Health (Research and Technical Support) at the Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and Hou Yong, General Manager of BGI Genomics, joined leading experts to discuss urgent priorities in rare disease diagnosis, genomics, and public health response.
From water and air to h2O2: How molecular design unlocks efficient photocatalysis
Science China PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Photocatalytic production of H2O2 from air and water represents a promising green strategy, yet its efficiency is limited by sluggish water oxidation kinetics. Here, three donor–acceptor conjugated polymers were designed to tune water oxidation sites, achieving efficient H2O2 generation in pure water. Notably, the bipyridine-based polymer exhibits a high rate of 6687 μmol g-1 h-1, benefiting from enhanced charge separation and accelerated reaction kinetics. This work provides a molecular-level design strategy for efficient photocatalysts.
- Journal
- Science Bulletin